Quoted from Jarkko:My first impressions:
- the "upcoming events" lists Canada and USA only. There are a lot of events in Europe, for example, and I would assume getting most out of this myselft when travelling. The local events I usually know about. I guess the app could figure out the location of the user (if permitted, obviously) and display events nearby by default, with a possibility to change the location if needed. Use case: "going abroad next week, wonder if there's a tournament nearby".
- "places to play". Again, US states only. I don't know if there's a global pinball locator anywhere anymore that is any good, or if they provide an interface to hook into. But if there was, more global coverage would be much appreciated. Heck, if you want to add Finland, I happen to be responsible for our local database and would be happy to provide an API of some sort for the data if needed
- "the Pin-Trivia". Looks like a lot of fun. Have you written this all by yourself (you and your friends listed in the acknowledgement page), or would you consider crowdsourcing for new questions, for example here in Pinside? Or via the app, perhaps. Obviously moderation of some sort is needed.
- "Game info". The "Credits & release info" is not fetched programmatically from IPDB, right? Instead you've gathered the data from there and possibly various other sources manually? Sounds like a lot of work, but that's fine for the end user if you pull that off. The "rules & tips" I'm most interested in, and integration with pintips.net would be a huge plus. Now it's mostly the instruction card data, right? And that's fine, too, although I'd call that "instruction card" instead . The images I don't really care that much, but the videos I do, and linking to PAPA tutorials and tournament videos is a great choice. Better than the promo videos that many games link to, IMHO.
- "Links and resources". These I don't usually need in a hurry, but if I do, grouping them and prioritizing them a bit could improve that a bit.
- "Playfield puzzle", a fun idea Maybe I won't suck at this kind of puzzles after practicing with this for a while.
- "Tips for beginners". Good addition, I could see myself handing the phone over to a friend who hasn't played that much and is waiting for his turn while I play . Quite a lot of text, though. I usually use http://papa.org/learning-center/players-guide/?target=techniques for this. Maybe link to a video or two there?
Looking back to above, I sound a bit too negative, and that's not my intention. The app looks fun and useful and I'll definitely try that out when playing recreationally or in a competition. Keep up the good work and thank you for the app so far.
WOW! Thank you so much! You did not seem negative at all. You confirmed a few ideas and gave me some more. I appreciate and thank you for every word and thought you shared.
Events - It's my intention to add ALL IFPA Events, worldwide, as soon as possible. Also considering the places/events alerts.
Places to play – plans to build this up too, and I'm happy to add Finland. Of course this will happen much sooner if you can provide me with a list You can email to pinfoapps @gmail.com.
Currenty, I write all the pin-trivia, and asking for people to contribute is a great idea, though my plan was to keep writing the trivia but and ask for some Pro Tips...and give credit to the contributors....either way, it would require moderation, so it's not at the top of my list just yet.
Game info – I use as many sources as possible – beginning with rules from the cards and from the manuals, then I visit a few sites, watch a few videos, and hunt for a least one or two extra tips per game. And add and update as many as possible. (It is a lot of work but worthwhile ...Rules vs. Instructions....hm. I'll ponder this some more and if you see the change, you'll know it was your. Idea
Videos...I'm just trying to select videos that are helpful, short, and entertaining. But based on your feedback, may include a few that are longer, too. And adding videos to the section for new players is brilliant, thank you! You'll see this improvement soon.
Links & Resources – you're right – I'll organize or alphabetize, asap.
Thanks again! Looking forward to staing in touch and getting your Finland events added